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NCIS

Lexi felt the room coming into focus, but she was horrified to find that there was no sound. She had feared this moment for years.

A man stood over her, in what could only be described as scrubs. She could see from his badge that he was a nurse.

Lexi could tell that he was trying to talk to her, but no sound penetrated her hearing.

Silence.

Deafening Silence.

Doctors were swarming her, trying to get her to talk to them, but all she wanted was to know was that this wasn't some trick the man had to get her to talk.

"Daddy." She couldn't even hear her own voice now. Her eyes were darting around, while the doctors continued to talk to her.

"Where's dad?" She finally concentrated all her attention on the main doctor's lips, hoping it would help. This time there was no intermittent sounds to help.

"Know…are…Do you…know…are?" She pieced together the best sentence she could from that. "In a hospital. Where's dad?"

"Special….DiNozzo…outside…Agent…Officer David…" She couldn't make a sentence out of that one, and the attempts to figure it out were not only grating on her nerves, but also quickly making her feel more exhausted. She felt her eyelids slide closed slowly, praying silently that she was safe.

NCIS

Upon seeing the doctor walk into the waiting room, Tony stood immediately. Ziva grabbed his arm before the nervous agent took off in a sprint after the Doctor. Tony had been a wreck in the three hours since they had gotten to the hospital.

Gibbs and McGee stood a step behind them, McGee holding onto a distraught Abby who had been released only an hour ago and refused to go home and rest.

Ducky came to stand beside Tony, ready to interpret if the doctor became too technical in his explanation, while Palmer stayed sitting and waiting in the chairs.

"Agent DiNozzo, your daughter awoke for a short time, but she is asleep once again. I think there may be an unforeseen complication, though. In addition to her leg and the fluid that built up in her lungs, I think there may have been a…"

"Just say it, Doc. I don't have time or energy for your medical jargon."

"I think there may have been some hearing loss. When we spoke to her, she didn't respond until she looked directly at our mouths as we spoke. Then, Miss Coffman responded."

Tony's eyes grew wide, and he began to speak but was cut off by Gibbs voice, "There is a possibility that was already an issue before she was kidnapped."

Tony turned immediately, almost angrily at Gibbs, "Boss?!?"

NCIS

Lexi opened her eyes again, but this time there were no doctors around. Instead, a dark-haired Israeli sat in front of her, wincing at something.

"Ziva, you okay." Ziva turned her head to me.

"I am fine. I am glad you are awake." She couldn't hear it, but Ziva had said it slowly.

"Where's dad?" She watched as her head turned toward the door, and she said something.

"Could you just…I need to see your face." Lexi noticed Ziva turn her head back.

"Do you hear anything?" She mouthed.

"Gibbs told everyone, huh?" At her nod of assent, Lexi continued, "I could hear at least pieces of sounds before. Now, there's nothing, just silence. So, Dad is yelling at Gibbs then?"

The left side of Ziva's lip turned up slightly, before she nodded.

Ziva then said, very slowly, "They are also getting the paperwork filled out so we can be moved to a safe house."

"Gibbs' gut?" The nod allowed me to continue. "How long?"

"It will be a couple of hours, I believe."

Ziva turned to the door and said something, but Lexi didn't know what, seeing as she looked at someone else. Seconds later, her father rounded the corner, and walked straight to her. He gently put a peck on her head, before effectively mouthing 'I love you.'

"I love you too Daddy." Tony almost jumped back for a second. "You don't have to yell Kid."

"Sorry. I didn't tell them anything dad. I promise. They asked and asked about Ziva, but I didn't say a word."

Tony smiled, proud that his daughter was so strong. Soon his smile fell though. "Why didn't you tell me you can't hear?"

Alexis stared hard at his lips, "Can you slow it down a bit?" Somehow Tony suddenly remembered a dozen times his daughter had asked him to talk slower. How had he not known that something was wrong?

He repeated, and she sighed, "I knew you'd ask me how it happened dad."

Lexi wondered if her dad had been taking lessons from his Boss on that penetrating glare.

"My step-father got really mad one night when I told him I wanted to get off the base and go back home to my friends. He deafened me, but they said it would be progressive. I guess it finally all went away now after struggling with it for almost 4 years."

They settled into a nice long conversation with Tony eventually grabbing some paper to help her understand him.

Alexis swallowed the lump that had been forming in her throat, "Dad, when are you going to ask Ziva to marry you. She's going to have your baby and you love her."

The smile on her father's face fell, "Do you think you're ready for that?"

"I think they deserve to have you close. You've known Ziva longer than me and you love her."

"I'm not the marrying type."

"Mom said you were at one time, at least that's what Braedon told her when she came back to find you."

Tony looked at his daughter, "If I would've known about you…"

"I know dad," she said, "But I don't think Ziva's going to be like my mom. Sure, I want to keep you for myself and I know it's selfish and I shouldn't but don't let me stop you from doing what you want. I'm well on my way to fifteen. I can take care of myself. The baby can't."

Gibbs's head popped in before he could answer, and they went to go sign some papers as Ziva and Uncle Timmy came in with a nurse to help Lexi into a chair. They were all going to the safe house.

Ziva, Tim, Abby, Palmer, Ducky, Gibbs, Tony and Lexi piled into their prospective cars and headed to the safest place any of them knew: Gibbs's house.

Lexi knew she needed to suck up all the selfishness she had to talk to Ziva. She didn't want someone to be her new mom. She didn't want someone to take her dad away. Most of all, she didn't want to end up alone and scared again.

The truth was that she couldn't be selfish here. There were men out there who could do to her little brother/sister like her step-father had hurt her, killed her mom.

Ziva was a good lady, strong too, but Lexi knew her mom had been strong.

So, Lexi knew exactly what she had to do.